Chile's Arturo Vidal to Undergo Knee Surgery Five Weeks Before World Cup

Updated: 07 May 2014 14:14 IST

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal will undergo knee surgery but has not been ruled out of the FIFA World Cup. Chile play their first match of the tournament on June 13, against Australia.

Written by Associated Press

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Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal will undergo knee surgery Wednesday, just five weeks before his country's first match at the World Cup. (Click here for latest on football)

Vidal visited specialist surgeon Ramon Cugat in Barcelona on Tuesday, accompanied by doctors from Chile's national team as well as those from his club Juventus.

"The (recovery) period is the most important question and the one that worries us the most," Chile's team doctor, Giovanni Carcuro, said on Tuesday night. "Unfortunately, in these cases, it's not something so definite.

"We can say that the player is by no means ruled out from the World Cup. But we don't either have lots of time, and giant and super-relaxed deadlines. So it's an intermediate time that the player needs for an important treatment, a recovery process so the player can recover as soon as possible and we can count on him." (Also read: Brazil no war zone like Iraq or Afghanistan, says sports minister)

Juventus - which clinched the Italian league title on the weekend - earlier released a brief statement saying Vidal will "undergo arthroscopic surgery on the lateral meniscus of his right knee."

Vidal was instrumental in helping Juventus to the Serie A title in each of his three seasons at the club since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2011. (Also read: Beware strangers, mosquitoes, fans told)